This PCT Business

Neil's blog

Following this quick blog is what would have been my first three blogs. We're now 2 weeks in. Bad internet, planning, logistics and time spent trying local brews has conspired to delay my early attempts at writing.

Before I get into it, now that we have been out hiking for a while, I thought I'd share some early thoughts on this PCT business: It's hard. Really #$&@ing hard. It's not the hiking, the camping, the long stretches or the mountains we climb each day. Nor is it the walking in sodden shoes for days in a row, or the cold. After a week I already feel stronger in the legs and the pack feels good on my back. My feet have blistered and healed already and are becoming more durable by the day. No, the hard thing has been dealing with fear. I can't remember the last time I was scared. I mean real fear for life and limb. Maybe 10 or so years ago, when my knees still had cartilage and mortality was an unknown, this would have been easier. But, as we made our first crossing of a snow covered mountain pass, over Rocky Pass, up a near vertical wall of icy snow, that alien feeling surged through me. I couldn't stop it. A wrong step, a mischievous piece of ice and I could only imagine a rapid slide down to the bottom, 100s of metres over rocks and shale. We made it over in the end. And the sense of relief was as wonderful as the fear terrible. Over the next week we'd endure several such passes. The worst of which (Fire Creek Pass), took us 4 hours, to travel less than 3km. The climb itself was exhausting. Managing the sense of fear for so long, was beyond anything I've ever had to endure. Frankly, the only reason we kept going was because we couldn't go back.

What caused our fear was total lack of experience of snow. But also, at the back of our minds was the knowledge that several others had turned back or skipped the passes, that at least one chap had fallen (leaving by rescue helicopter) that a couple of hikers were missing, oh, and one young fella had been struck by lightning as he made a pass (he'd been spotted later marching on in a melted poncho). But, we've done the hardest part now. We have more confidence and have learned a lot about trudging up snowy walls. Fear has given way to caution and simple mantras 'one step, next step'. There's going to be more challenges ahead, ones we can't imagine yet, but we're ready now